Richardson ISD trustees have hired former superintendent Dr. Carolyn Bukhair to return in an interim role. The national search for a permanent replacement is expected to take up to eight months.
Bukhair, who served as superintendent for eight years, began as a teacher and worked her way through the ranks. She was principal at Yale Elementary before moving to the administration building and taking on various leadership roles.
Dr. Bukhair is about as far from a scandal as you can get. She is solid and methodical, and she still wields the undying loyalty of RISD educators. Not only did RISD trustees name an elementary school after her while she was still living and healthy, they did it while she was still superintendent of the district – almost unheard of in school circles.
Choosing Bukhair may give us some insight into the board’s thinking on selecting a permanent leader. The past two supers stayed only two years each, just about long enough to learn the RISD ropes and get to know the players. No doubt they hope their next choice lingers a little longer.
